Revelation 12:7-12
7 And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, 8 but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. 9 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
10 Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. 11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. 12 Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.”
10 Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. 11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. 12 Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.”
Seemingly after the Messiah went back into heaven, a war in heaven between angels and Satan resulted in losing their ability to remain there before God. The dragon, the serpent (2 Corinthians 11:3, Genesis 3:1) is the devil who is Satan; this is clearly stated here. He is the deceiver as his name defines him, and he has been sentenced to this world until the final end puts him away forever for his rebellion against his creator. We still have the devil and his angels (demons) amongst us until they are shut up for good in the lake of tormenting fire, and so must beware of the attacks against God’s people (1 Peter 5:8). Right after the deceiver is set loose upon the world, we see hope in God’s deliverance in Christ. The Lamb died so His blood could pay for our own rebellion, which is not offered nor possible for the angelic fallen (Jude 1:6). Yes, the salvation, strength, and kingdom of our God in Christ’s power have cast down our accuser, for in Him we overcome - by His redeeming blood and our testimony to that truth which saves us and set us free from the same eternal damnation. Many more will be killed for that testimony before He returns, those of whom the world is not worthy (Hebrews 11:38). But this victory is cause for great rejoicing from heaven down to earth, except for those refusing to hear and believe the Lamb and His sacrifice which alone redeems, is to freedom from judgement. Those without Him are still under the sway of the wicked one, who is ramping up his deception and attacks against God and His Anointed. The war and struggle are very real.
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